End clap for Youri Ganous. Head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) for three years, he was dismissed from his position at the end of last week. As expected, the board of founders of the agency, made up of representatives of the Russian Olympic and Paralympic committees, unanimously decided to end its mission. He was replaced by Mikhail Bukanov, appointed as interim director. Officially, Youri Ganous was fired following an audit revealing illicit financial activities at Rusada. An audit that he himself had described as “ byincomplete, unfounded and questionable. » In reality, he pays for his willingly rebellious and very critical attitude towards the sports movement and the Russian authorities. He explained it to theAFP : " This decision doesn't mean anything good, for Rusada had become a bridge for the restoration of trust” between Russia and international sporting bodies. The dismissal of Yuri Ganous came just days after the resignation of Rusada's deputy general director, Margarita Pakhnotskaya, and that of Sergey Khrychikov, an independent international expert and member of the agency's supervisory board. In a statement, WADA condemned the dismissal of Youri Ganous, repeating “ the critical importance for Rusada to maintain its operational independence in the future. »
